Liverpool chairman Tom Werner believes that the Reds are capable of returning to the top level of English and European football.

The Merseyside outfit, who finished eighth in the league under Kenny Dalglish last season, begin their Premier League campaign this weekend under the leadership of new boss Brendan Rodgers.

"We know that we are behind, but we are on it," the Liverpool Echo quotes Werner as saying.

"We have a lot of respect, not just for Manchester United, but other clubs in the Premier League, as well as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

"We learned a lot about some of the ideas that they have. For us, we feel that we have work to do. Do we feel that it is possible to get on a level with those clubs? Absolutely. Can we close that gap and compete at the very highest level? Absolutely."

Liverpool begin the new season with an away trip to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.